Defenseman Mikhail Tatarinov played parts of four seasons with the Washington Capitals, Quebec Nordiques and Boston Bruins in the early 90s. He was best known in the USSR/Russia a fine playmaker domestically and on the national team.

Born in Angarsk, USSR, Tatarinov began his career with Sokol Kiev in 1983-84 and eventually moved up to Moscow Dynamo. In 1984 he was named the top defenceman at the European Junior Championships. He won a gold medal with the USSR at the 1984 and 1986 World Junior Championships and a bronze in 1985. In 1985 and 1986 the slick blueliner was placed on the tournament all-star team and he was named the top defenceman in 1986. Tatarinov made his debut with the senior national squad at Rendez-Vous in 1987 then became a fixture in the Dynamo line up where he won a championship in 1990. In 1990 he was voted on to the all-star team after helping the USSR win the gold medal at the World Championships.

Chosen 225th overall by the Capitals in 1984, Tatarinov scored eight goals in 65 games as an NHL rookie in 1990-91. In June, 1991 he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques for a draft choice. A few months later he played for the Soviet Union at the Canada Cup. Tatarinov scored 11 goals and was a +8 on the weak Nordiques then played 28 games through assorted injuries while helping the club improve in 1992-93. Tatarinov signed as a free agent with Boston then suffered through an injury-plagued season before retiring in 1994.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1983-84

Sokol Kiev

USSR

38

7

3

10

46

1983-84

Soviet Union

WJC-A

7

1

2

3

0

1983-84

Soviet Union

EJC-A

5

3

1

4

18

1984-85

Sokol Kiev

USSR

34

3

6

9

54

1984-85

Soviet Union

WJC-A

5

1

2

3

6

1985-86

Sokol Kiev

USSR

37

7

5

12

41

1985-86

Soviet Union

WJC-A

7

2

5

7

16

1986-87

Dynamo Moscow

USSR

40

10

8

18

43

1986-87

Soviet Union

RV-87

2

0

1

1

0

1987-88

Dynamo Moscow

USSR

30

2

2

4

8

1988-89

Dynamo Moscow

USSR

4

1

0

1

2

1989-90

Dynamo Moscow

USSR

44

11

10

21

34

1989-90

Dynamo Moscow

Fr-Tour

1

1

2

3

0

1989-90

Dynamo Moscow

Super-S

5

0

1

1

0

1989-90

Soviet Union

WEC-A

10

3

8

11

20

1990-91

Dynamo Moscow

USSR

11

5

4

9

6

1990-91

Dynamo Moscow

Fr-Tour

1

0

0

0

2

1990-91

Washington Capitals

NHL

65

8

15

23

82

-4

1991-92

Soviet Union

Can-Cup

5

0

1

1

17

1991-92

Quebec Nordiques

NHL

66

11

27

38

72

+8

1992-93

Quebec Nordiques

NHL

28

2

6

8

28

+6

1993-94

Boston Bruins

NHL

2

0

0

0

2

0

1993-94

Providence Bruins

AHL

3

0

3

3

0

NHL Totals

161

21

48

69

184

Best Defenseman at EJC-A (1984) WJC-A All-Star Team (1985, 1986) Best Defenseman at WJC-A (1986) USSR First All-Star Team (1990) WEC-A All-Star Team (1990) Best Defenseman at WEC-A (1990)

Traded to Quebec by Washington for Toronto's 2nd round pick (previously acquired, Washington selected Eric Lavigne) in 1991 NHL Draft, June 22, 1991. Signed as a free agent by Boston, July 30, 1993.